We Are Warriors

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Just as the sun begins to cascade over the horizon the sound of battle breaks out. Organized chaos surrounds you as your fellow soldiers race into position. “Charge!” The captain yells in a commanding voice. At that very moment your entire brigade storms onto the battlefield. Oddly, the closer you get to your nemesis the more you can’t help but feel something is amiss. Then suddenly the enemy comes upon you with sword drawn and fear engulfs your entire body. In the rush to battle you forgot to grab your weapon! Now I’m sure you’re saying to yourself there’s no way I’d go into battle without my sword but we do it everyday. What battle am I referring to? It’s the spiritual war against the powers of this evil world (Eph 6:12) that attack and exploit the weaknesses of our flesh. 


If you’re like me, when I was a teenager everyone from my parents to teachers and preachers would tell me to be good. They told me to stay away from temptations like sex or alcohol and the main deterrent for not doing something wrong was some form of punishment. Adults kept telling me to be good but no one showed me how to be good. As I got older I realized that we’re too weak to fight against temptations. We sin and then we might be good for a little while but then we fall right back into the same sin again. To fight our spiritual battles we need a weapon. We need our sword. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph 6‬:‭11‬). I’ll go into what exactly is the full armor of God in my next post but for now I want to concentrate on the sword. 


The sword is the word of God (Eph 6:17). Out of all the spiritual armor God gives us it’s the only one that we have to attack the enemy. Let me give you an example of how it works. Let’s say one of your weaknesses is lust. It’s natural to find people attractive and sex is a gift from God. Although God intended sex for bonding and procreation within a marriage, our sinful nature made sex a means of pleasure with whomever we want.  So how do you fight against something that is natural and pleasurable? We use our sword, God’s word. First, you need to look up all the Bible verses relating to lust and sex (thankfully there’s Google). Secondly, read and study those scriptures. When I say study I mean really really study as if your life depends on it. You should learn as many as you can and be able to recite them. It takes time so memorize as many as possible and know where to find the ones  that are harder to remember. 


Once you have them memorized you’re ready for battle. When temptation strikes you need to say aloud (or to yourself if the situation calls) the Bible verses relating to lust and sex like “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?…” (1 Cor 6:15). God’s word is power and it will quell any temptation. Repeat or read the other verses and watch the Devil flee. Use this process to fight lust, anxiety, anger, jealousy or any shortcomings you have. Even Jesus used scripture to defeat the Devil when Jesus  was tempted in the wilderness (Mat 4:1-11).  When you’re finished with your sword say a prayer with the reassurance that God is always there and he gave you his armor so that no weapon formed against you will prosper. 


Think about it. 



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